


The Question

by ReginaNocis



Series: Shooting Stars [9]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Adorable Barry Allen, Caitlin Snow Needs a Hug, Cisco is Ridiculous, F/F, Iris will gladly hug her, Lots of Angst, Proposals, like seriously, mentioned wedding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-08 16:35:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20838656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReginaNocis/pseuds/ReginaNocis
Summary: Caitlin has become obsessed with finding out why Cisco hasn't proposed to Lisa yet. Iris has her own questions that need to be answered.(Spoilers for "Nightmare", if you haven't read that one.)





	The Question

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't resist adding more to this series. It's set after "Nightmare" and does contain spoilers for that story. This was originally supposed to focus on Cisco and Lisa, but Iris completely stole the show. I blame her.

Cisco still had not proposed to Lisa. This in itself was not shocking; what was shocking was the fact that she had let it continue this long without demanding more or just proposing for herself. Caitlin had been Cisco’s friend for a _very_ long time, and even she wasn’t sure what was holding him back. She had watched the two together from the very beginning, had known before he had that they’d end up together, and yet…

Iris thought that she was more obsessed with Cisco’s relationship than Barry’s, and that was saying something. At least Barry and Len had their act together. Len had proposed just a few months after Eddie’s death, and Barry had (tearfully) accepted without hesitation. The two of them were set to be married in only a month’s time. Caitlin had been so sure that Barry asking Cisco to be his best man would spur Cisco into finally manning up and proposing himself, but that hadn’t happened.

“This is getting ridiculous,” Iris told her late one night. She’d watched Caitlin analyzing Cisco’s brainwaves for the past hour, trying to find out if he was depressed or going crazy, and now she just wanted some peace.

“I know! I don’t understand what’s stopping him,” Caitlin agreed, not even looking up from her computer screen.

“No, Cait, I don’t mean Cisco. I mean you,” Iris told her gently, placing a hand in front of the screen. “Why does this matter so much to you?”

“I just want everyone to be happy,” Caitlin told her, frowning. “I know he’s happy now, but wouldn’t they both be happier if they were getting married? Moving forward with their lives?”

This was a fight that Caitlin and Iris had had before. Iris sighed, taking a moment to massage her temples. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Marriage is just a silly piece of paper. It only barely matters in legal situations. It doesn’t mean they’re not moving forward.”

“I know for a fact that both Cisco and Lisa want to get married,” Caitlin protested. “Just because you don’t believe in it doesn’t mean that other people don’t.”

And suddenly, Iris knew exactly what this was about. It had nothing to do with Cisco and Lisa, or Barry and Len. Caitlin was projecting her own feelings onto others in an effort to hide from Iris how badly she wanted to get married, and Iris… had been completely oblivious. She stayed silent, letting Caitlin go back to analyzing Cisco, while she began to make her own plans.

The next day, Iris called Barry into the lab for an “emergency”. She waited in the entrance to stop him before he could alert anyone inside, her arms crossed nervously. She’d given a lot of thought to what she wanted to do, and she needed her best friend. Barry showed up right on time, looking around frantically when he saw her standing there alone.

“What’s the emergency? Where’s the threat?” Barry asked, practically vibrating in place. Iris had to smile at how predictable he was.

“The threat is inside of my head. I’m going to completely lose my nerve if I don’t have you with me to keep me going,” she told him. “I’ve got a mission that requires only the two of us and a _lot _of secrecy. Think you can handle it?”

“For you? Of course,” Barry replied. He still looked confused, but he gave her a genuine smile. This was why she had always loved Barry, from the moment they’d met. She was so glad they’d realized it was the love of siblings before it had been too late to go back.

“Thank you, Bar. I don’t want to discuss it here… there are eyes and ears everywhere,” she told him, offering her arm. He took it without hesitation, letting her lead him out to her car. They both knew there were cameras installed to view every inch of STAR Labs. It wasn’t until they were on the road that Iris dared to let him in on the secret. “I need your help shopping for an engagement ring.”

“What?! Iris, you don’t believe in marriage!” Barry exclaimed, looking over at her like she’d gone crazy.

“I don’t, no. But Caitlin does, and she wants it so badly it’s keeping her awake at night. And how could it hurt me to make the one that I love happy? It’s just a piece of paper. I can sign a piece of paper if it means making her smile again,” Iris reasoned. These were all the reasons she’d come up with as she’d laid awake the night before. “It will never mean much to me, but I can see the appeal of getting everyone together to celebrate our love.”

“This, this right here, is why she fell in love with you,” Barry told her softly. “That’s how you know it’s true love.”

“How?” Iris asked, parking at the nearest jewelry store. She locked the car behind them, though she had no fear of thieves when the Flash was literally standing beside her.

“You’re willing to give her what she wants, even though you don’t believe in it. You came up with a list of reasons why it’s the right thing to do, and even have started getting yourself excited for it. And your main reason is because you want to see her smile,” he pointed out.

“That’s… that’s not a big deal,” Iris protested. Barry gave her a pointed look and she looked down at the rings to avoid meeting his gaze. She knew he was right, but she wasn’t ready to think about it any harder than she already had.

“Can I help you find something?” the sales woman asked, smiling brightly.

“We’re just looking,” Barry assured her.

“Let me know if you’d like to view one up close,” she told them, moving to give them space.

Iris didn’t have to look long before she found the perfect ring. It had many little diamonds, grouped together in a way that reminded Iris of DNA. She knew that Caitlin would love it. She could already see her girlfriend’s beautiful smile in her mind as she paid for it and hid it in her purse.

“Thank you for coming with me. You give me strength,” she told Barry softly as they drove back towards the Lab.

“No, you’ve always had that strength. I’m just here for moral support,” he replied, grinning.

It took Iris six more weeks to work up the courage to actually propose to Caitlin. Barry’s wedding had gone off without a hitch, and they newly weds were spending their honeymoon somewhere far from the crime-riddled Central City. ‘Golden Star’ was keeping the peace mostly by herself, with occasional help from the Green Arrow and White Canary. Caitlin had been spending most of her time at the lab, still making sad eyes at Cisco while the pair helped Lisa fight the Metahumans.

Iris had made reservations at Caitlin’s favorite restaurant, and had gone a few hours ahead to give them the ring and special instructions. It was extremely cheesy and unoriginal, but Barry had assured her that Caitlin would absolutely love it. In the end, that’s all that really mattered.

Convincing Caitlin to leave the Lab was an interesting challenge. In the end, she had to enlist help from Cisco and Felicity, of all people.

“Caitlin, I brought you an outfit to change into. I told you about this dinner two days ago and reminded you this morning. You promised me you’d come,” Iris pointed out. Caitlin didn’t even look up from her computer, as usual.

“Cait, please. We’re going to be late,” Iris tried, ten minutes later. Thankfully, she’d started very early. They still had plenty of time. When that got no reply, she turned to Cisco and gestured for him to do something. He flipped a switch beside his own computer, and Caitlin’s went black.

“Oh no, a weirdly specific computer blackout! Whatever will we do?” Cisco stated, his voice flat with amusement. Caitlin glared at him angrily before turning her attention to Iris. Finally.

“Were you saying something?” she asked, still frowning.

“Yes. You need to get changed for our date,” Iris told her, holding out a dress on a hanger. It was one that Caitlin had never seen before, which wasn’t exactly unusual. Iris was constantly buying her things that were on sale and just casually adding them to the closet. As if Caitlin wouldn’t notice.

(Caitlin almost never noticed on her own.)

“I don’t know… they really need me here, when Barry is gone. I can’t just leave while Lisa is out there,” Caitlin protested weakly.

“That’s what I’m here for,” Felicity spoke up, setting up her laptop beside Caitlin’s computer. “Thea wanted some time with Olivia, and Ollie is out there with Lisa right now. There’s no better place for me than right here, and you’ve more than earned a date with your sweetie. Right, Iris?”

Felicity had greatly improved in her acting. If Iris hadn’t known better, she would have believed that Felicity was completely sincere. As it was, she knew that they’d had to bribe Thea to get her to babysit, so that they could help Iris with her plan. Caitlin, however, took it as truth. She nodded and grabbed the dress, hurrying out of the Cortex to change. Iris let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you both, so much. I promise I’ll send you a picture as soon as… well, you know. I owe you guys. Tell Oliver I owe him, too,” she said softly.

“No worries. We’re happy to help. You guys deserve this happiness!” Felicity said brightly. “I wasn’t kidding when I said you earned this.”

“Yeah, really. Enjoy yourselves. Make sure she stays home with you tomorrow, too. I figure you guys will be celebrating for a while, and I do _not _want to hear about it,” Cisco added, grinning. Iris rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t prevent her answering grin. She could only hope that he was right.

Caitlin chose that moment to come back into the Cortex, giving a quick spin in her dress. It was navy blue and went down to her knees. Iris felt like she was falling in love all over again, as she did every time Caitlin did something cute.

“Shall we?” Caitlin asked, smiling softly.

“Yes, absolutely,” Iris replied, trying to hide how flustered she felt. Cisco’s snort told her that she’d completely failed.

The drive to the restaurant was shorter than Iris remembered, and she kept fidgeting nervously. Caitlin kept giving her odd looks, clearly trying to figure out what was wrong with her. She couldn’t even make small talk in the beginning, so nervous for their desert.

“Okay, what’s wrong? You’re acting like the world is about to end,” Caitlin asked gently, covering Iris’s hand with her own. “Talk to me. I know I’ve been distant, but you can still tell me anything.”

“I just… I really love you. You know that, right?” Iris asked, forcing herself to hold still and relax a little. She had no reason to be nervous. This was just Caitlin.

“Of course. And I love you too,” Caitlin replied, smiling. “But that doesn’t explain anything.”

“I’ve been thinking a lot lately about love, and… and commitment. You’ve been spending all of your time wondering why Cisco hasn’t proposed to Lisa, but it made me ask myself a completely different question,” Iris told her, lacing their fingers together. She could see the waiter standing just out of Caitlin’s sight, holding the plate with the cake that would have her ring on top. “Why haven’t I proposed to you? I mean… I know how I feel about marriage, but I also know how you feel. And I don’t have a single reason not to marry you. I want to make you happy.”

“Iris…” Caitlin’s eyes were shining with tears, and Iris genuinely couldn’t tell if she was happy or sad. She gestured for the waiter to bring the cake, which he placed in front of Caitlin before quickly giving them privacy.

“I know in my very soul that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Why not make it official, with that little piece of paper? So… what I’m trying to say is… Caitlin Snow, will you marry me?” Iris asked, her nerves rising to their peak.

Caitlin stared at the ring for a few moments before looking back up at Iris, tears now flowing down her cheeks. She seemed to be completely speechless. It was the longest minute of Iris’s life. Finally, a blinding smile spread across Caitlin’s face and she practically dove across the table to kiss Iris.

“Yes! Yes, of course I will!” Caitlin cried, holding onto Iris like the world would end if she let go. Iris held her tightly, finally letting herself completely relax. She was crying, too. After so much time planning and freaking out, it had finally led to the smile she’d been hoping for. Caitlin was happy, and Iris… Iris had never felt this much happiness in her entire life.

Two weeks later, Caitlin finally just asked Cisco why he hadn’t proposed yet. She’d given up on trying to figure it out for herself, since she had much better things to focus on now. Cisco stared at her silently for a long time before bursting into laughter.

“Caitlin, Lisa and I have been engaged since before Leonard proposed to Barry,” he told her. “I asked her right after we got her out of that warehouse. I’d had the ring for months before that, just waiting for the right time.”

“Are you… you have got to be kidding me!” Caitlin exclaimed, torn between amusement and annoyance. “And you just decided not to tell us?”

“Barry and Leonard knew, but Lisa wanted to keep it quiet for a while. She wants a long engagement, and I’m perfectly fine with that. I think we were going to start telling people when they get back from their honeymoon, so just act surprised,” he replied, still laughing.

“I can’t believe you,” Caitlin huffed, settling on amusement. “But I guess I should thank you. I’ve been so obsessed with figuring out what’s wrong with you that it made Iris propose to me. I was even studying your brain waves.”

“Well, hey, glad to help. Whoa, wait, my brain waves? How did you even get those? Caitlin!” Cisco called, no longer laughing. It was Caitlin’s turn to laugh as she hurried out of the Cortex, making her way to her waiting fiancé.


End file.
